‘Hitman: Absolution’ Changes The Stage With Hollywood ‘Mo-Cap’

IO Interactive recently confirmed rumors and speculation surrounding the future of the Hitman franchise, officially announcing Hitman: Absolution. Promising to bring “a more stylized, more serious, and darker game this time around in both the story line and the visuals,” the developers have gone above and beyond the call of duty by employing the best in Hollywood entertainment, to bring a new dimension in the Hitman series.

Taking cues from James Cameron’s work on Avatar, IO Interactive employed Giant Studios to plug in Keith Carradine (Cowboys & Aliens) and Marsha Thomason (White Collar) to provide the voices and bodies of the main characters. Carradine will step into the shoes of Agent 47, now on the run from the police while simultaneously chasing “his most dangerous contract to date,” while Thomason works as Diana Burnwood, 47’s handler and only real human connection to the world.

Game director Tore Blystad explains their desire to have the game tie-in with a film that follows the same strategy, taking a new direction as opposed to basing itself of the older games in the franchise.

“The hope is that the movie will be going in a similar direction, and then when they both come out they will speak the same language. They won’t follow the old Hitman games, but rather go with this newer direction.”

Carradine and Thomason are not the only two allowed to play in Giant Studios’ production labs; Hitman: Absolutionis going to be the most cinematic and stylized title in the series, meaning a bigger and more meaningful cast to portray.

“There are more central characters in this game than we’ve ever dealt with before and they all have names and an important role in the story, so working with Hollywood talent was crucial to us.”

While the darker and greater impact will help with the overall series, and Blystad are also hoping that the difference will help in the second Hitman film, now in pre-production and set to dovetail the events in the game. Adrian Askarieh, who is producing the film with Chuck Gordon and Fox International are thinking even bigger:

“We’ve seen the grit and texture and the character-driven context that IO Interactive is going for with Hitman: Absolution and it’s our goal to bring Agent 47 back with a vengeance next year in a movie.”

How does it sound to you guys? With the gentle pull towards Hollywood realism in games, Hitman: Absolution could be setting itself for the next thing. As soon as more info comes out (like at E3), we’ll be sure to let you know.